In the books previous to "The Great Rooted Bed," Odysseus had traveled to Troy to fight. After ten years of fighting he finally began his journey home. But, on his way home, nothing went according to plan. He and his crew had to undergo many dangers and tasks. His entire crew was killed on his journey back home. It takes him another 10 years to finally get back to Ithaca. In his absence of twenty years, he is thought to be dead. Many men want to become the husband of Penelope, Odysseus's wife. In book 23, "The Great Rooted Bed," Odysseus has just killed all of the men trying to win his wife. A maid goes up to tell Penelope that Odysseus is finally home and that he has killed all her suitors and piled them near the front gate. However, Penelope is so convinced that Odysseus is dead that she refuses to believe he is actually home. Even after she sees him she refuses to believe he is really back. They have a grand dinner with music and dance to celebrate Odysseus returning, but Penelope still refuses to believe it is him. He is so appalled that she doesn't belive him that he asks for a maid to make him a bed so he can sleep alone. Penelope then agrees, and asks the maid to remove the bed that Odysseus himself built out of the room so he can sleep alone. But then Odysseus becomes even more furious and starts talking about how he hand built the bed and how it cannot be moved by even the strongest man. Only a god could remove his bed from his room. After this, Penelope finally becomes sure that it is Odysseus and they embrace and go to bed together. When they are laying next to eachother in bed Odysseus reveals his story to Penelope and she tells Odysseus about all the suitors and what happened at the castle. At the end of the book Odysseus and three of his servants ride out to tell his father he is back home.
Odysseus reunites with his wife after twenty years of travel and hardship.
Character
Odysseus's wife, Penelope, spends the time during Odysseus's travels holding off suiters wanting her hand in marriage: "...the radiant woman telling of all she'd borne at home, watching them there, the infernal crowd of suitors slaughtering herds of cattle and good fat sheep..."(465 lines 344-346). She tells all of them that when she is done weaving her design she will choose one of them. But, every night she secretly goes down to the loom and unweaves part of the design, postponing her choice. This is important because it illustrates that she still believes that Odysseus will still one day return. However, when Odysseus finally does return, Penelope does not believe that he is home because it has been so long and he is thought to be dead: "...he's [Oedipus] lost all hope of coming home...he's lost and gone himself" (457 lines 75-76). She tests to see whether or not it is really him by asking a maid to remove his bed from his room: "Come, Eurycleia, move the sturdy bedstead out of our bridal chamber-that room the master built with his own hands" (461 lines 197-199). After his outburst of anger at even the idea of even being able to move the bed at all, she finally realizes it is him.
Structure
In The Great Rooted Bed, Homer uses many different literary tools to emphasize certain points. One example of these tools is a metaphor: "Splattered with bloody filth, a lion with his kill!" (457 line 52) In this line, Homer is comparing Odysseus to a lion after its kill. Another tool used is personification: "...kill me with a thousand knives of pain!" (458 line 89) Knives, although they inflict pain, cannot actually have pain on them or embedded into them like the maid is suggesting. A final example is another metaphor: "...your heart was always harder than a rock!" (458 line 117) This is Telamachus telling Penelope that she has a heart of stone for not being overwhelmed with Odysseus finally returning. These techniques are used to enhance the reading so it is not so boring and to emphasize certain points in the story. Homer uses many metaphors and personifications in other stories as well.
Geography
The Odyssey takes our hero, Odysseus, all throughout the Mediterranean and the Agean Sea in his attempts to get home. In book 23 Odysseus has already returned home to Ithaca. Ithaca is a small, mountainas island off the coast of Greece and has a small, but stable population. Since the prehistoric times Ithaca has changed hands many times due to the power struggle for the Mediterranean. Today, Ithaca is the tourism center for the Ionian Islands.
"He's here-Odysseus is here-He's come home" (pg. 456 verse 30). Odysseus has returned home to Ithica after his odyssey, and he slays all of the suitors. This quote is very important to the story because the whole story is about how his attempts to get home only lead him into more danger.
Pericles
Pericles is most famous for being a statesman in Athens and later on a the commander-in-chief of the Delian League. He was your typical 'Golden Age' Athenian. He believed in a strong democracy, supported the fine arts, and studied basic philosophy. In fact most of the Athenian buildings that still stand today were projects he headed. As time went on he began believe that Athens could could take over all of Greece and unite the city states, so he built a great army, and named himself the commander-in-chief. The Delian league, made of Athens and a few of its neighbor city/states, fought the rest of the Greek city/sates, also called the Peloponnesian League. Neither side made many any advances until the untimely death of Pericles, which lead to the defeat of Athens.
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A sculpture of Pericles wearing the stanard Athenian soldier's helmet
Synopsis
Character
Structure
Geography
Pericles
Synopsis/Theme:
In the books previous to "The Great Rooted Bed," Odysseus had traveled to Troy to fight. After ten years of fighting he finally began his journey home. But, on his way home, nothing went according to plan. He and his crew had to undergo many dangers and tasks. His entire crew was killed on his journey back home. It takes him another 10 years to finally get back to Ithaca. In his absence of twenty years, he is thought to be dead. Many men want to become the husband of Penelope, Odysseus's wife. In book 23, "The Great Rooted Bed," Odysseus has just killed all of the men trying to win his wife. A maid goes up to tell Penelope that Odysseus is finally home and that he has killed all her suitors and piled them near the front gate. However, Penelope is so convinced that Odysseus is dead that she refuses to believe he is actually home. Even after she sees him she refuses to believe he is really back. They have a grand dinner with music and dance to celebrate Odysseus returning, but Penelope still refuses to believe it is him. He is so appalled that she doesn't belive him that he asks for a maid to make him a bed so he can sleep alone. Penelope then agrees, and asks the maid to remove the bed that Odysseus himself built out of the room so he can sleep alone. But then Odysseus becomes even more furious and starts talking about how he hand built the bed and how it cannot be moved by even the strongest man. Only a god could remove his bed from his room. After this, Penelope finally becomes sure that it is Odysseus and they embrace and go to bed together. When they are laying next to eachother in bed Odysseus reveals his story to Penelope and she tells Odysseus about all the suitors and what happened at the castle. At the end of the book Odysseus and three of his servants ride out to tell his father he is back home.
Character
Odysseus's wife, Penelope, spends the time during Odysseus's travels holding off suiters wanting her hand in marriage: "...the radiant woman telling of all she'd borne at home, watching them there, the infernal crowd of suitors slaughtering herds of cattle and good fat sheep..."(465 lines 344-346). She tells all of them that when she is done weaving her design she will choose one of them. But, every night she secretly goes down to the loom and unweaves part of the design, postponing her choice. This is important because it illustrates that she still believes that Odysseus will still one day return. However, when Odysseus finally does return, Penelope does not believe that he is home because it has been so long and he is thought to be dead: "...he's [Oedipus] lost all hope of coming home...he's lost and gone himself" (457 lines 75-76). She tests to see whether or not it is really him by asking a maid to remove his bed from his room: "Come, Eurycleia, move the sturdy bedstead out of our bridal chamber-that room the master built with his own hands" (461 lines 197-199). After his outburst of anger at even the idea of even being able to move the bed at all, she finally realizes it is him.
Structure
In The Great Rooted Bed, Homer uses many different literary tools to emphasize certain points. One example of these tools is a metaphor: "Splattered with bloody filth, a lion with his kill!" (457 line 52) In this line, Homer is comparing Odysseus to a lion after its kill. Another tool used is personification: "...kill me with a thousand knives of pain!" (458 line 89) Knives, although they inflict pain, cannot actually have pain on them or embedded into them like the maid is suggesting. A final example is another metaphor: "...your heart was always harder than a rock!" (458 line 117) This is Telamachus telling Penelope that she has a heart of stone for not being overwhelmed with Odysseus finally returning. These techniques are used to enhance the reading so it is not so boring and to emphasize certain points in the story. Homer uses many metaphors and personifications in other stories as well.
Geography
The Odyssey takes our hero, Odysseus, all throughout the Mediterranean and the Agean Sea in his attempts to get home. In book 23 Odysseus has already returned home to Ithaca. Ithaca is a small, mountainas island off the coast of Greece and has a small, but stable population. Since the prehistoric times Ithaca has changed hands many times due to the power struggle for the Mediterranean. Today, Ithaca is the tourism center for the Ionian Islands.
"He's here-Odysseus is here-He's come home" (pg. 456 verse 30). Odysseus has returned home to Ithica after his odyssey, and he slays all of the suitors. This quote is very important to the story because the whole story is about how his attempts to get home only lead him into more danger.
Pericles
Pericles is most famous for being a statesman in Athens and later on a the commander-in-chief of the Delian League. He was your typical 'Golden Age' Athenian. He believed in a strong democracy, supported the fine arts, and studied basic philosophy. In fact most of the Athenian buildings that still stand today were projects he headed. As time went on he began believe that Athens could could take over all of Greece and unite the city states, so he built a great army, and named himself the commander-in-chief. The Delian league, made of Athens and a few of its neighbor city/states, fought the rest of the Greek city/sates, also called the Peloponnesian League. Neither side made many any advances until the untimely death of Pericles, which lead to the defeat of Athens.
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